Template for fashioning elements of roof trusses and like structures



Dec. 8, 1942.; .1. WAELBROCK 2,304.6'14 TEMPLATE FOR FASHION-ING ELEMENTS OF ROOF TRiJSSES AND LIKE STRUCTURES Filed June 18, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 8, 1942. J. WAELBROCK 2,304,614

TEMPLATE FOR FASHIONING ELEMENTS 0F ROOF TRUSSES AND LIKE STRUCTURES I Filed June 18, 1941 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 u E972. 4/3 I Adzfamza Wwm'uw ///////W77)l j Patented Dec. 8, 1942 TEIWPLATE- FOR FASHIONINGELEMENTS OF.

RQOF 'LRUSSESAND LIKE-STRUCTURES Jules'Waelbrock; Monterey Park, Califl, assignor. to S'ummerbell Roof Structures, Los Angeles, Calif., acorporation of California Application June IS, 1941,.Serial'No. 398.568

Claims.

This. invention relatessto. a meansand. method for fashioning elements of. roof. trusses and similar structures.

An object. of. theinvention. is. to. provide. a means and method. by which timbers or fabricated partsof roof trusses and-similar structures can be. very easily. marked to facilitatetheproper cutting or shaping of the ends of suchelements and. to properly locate. the centers of bolt holes that are to be drilled'ltherethrough.

Heretofore, in the construction-- of .roof trusses andsi'milar structuresithas been customary to assemble together temporarily the topv and. bottom. chordsand lwebmembers. so. that these. may be properly, markedto be. cutto length. and have their ends, shaped. to. cause. themfto. properly fit. together.. The. bolt. holes. have. been drilled. through the temporarilyassembled members and .when. this is accomplished the. elements. of. the.

trusses. have. been taken apart for purposes. of cutting or shaping the e-ndsfof the web members and for the purpose of grooving the opposedsurfaces-of the chordand web elements for. the reception. of timber connectors. When the web members have been thuscut to/length, shaped, and grooved all of-,the elementsofithe truss have been then reassembled to form the; completed truss. Such. a method of" construction involves. aconsiderable. waste: of time and labor in that, in: effect, each truss. must?v be. assembled; or: constructed twice, the first! time: being' when they elements are; temporarily assembled. to'gether'ior marking and'hole drillingxpurposes, andthe sec.- ond' being when the completely fashioned elements are reassembled'together in the construction of the completed'truss. Trusses constructed as above described are also subject'to the further disadvantage in that the proper-fitting or shaping'of'the various elements depends to a large extent upon the skill and accuracy of the workmen marking' and'cutting the" various elements.

In; the construction of large buildings that employ roof trusses there is usually required a series of trusses which-may and should be exact duplicates of each; other. Gonsequently; it is desirable to provide a means and method of quickly and accurately marking the elements of the truss so that they may be accurately and properly cut to shape and have their bolt holes and grooves for the timber connectors accurately located. In this manner the first or temporary assembly of the'elements may be entirely avoided but the elements will nevertheless be accurately shaped anddrilled so that when the completed trusses are assembled, all elements thereof will properly fit together.

Withthe foregoing and other objects in view, whichwill be made manifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in theappendedclaims, reference is had .to the ac.- companying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of approximately one-half of a template embodying the present invention, illustrating; in dotted lines the positions assumed by various elementsof a roof truss whenv applied thereto for. marking purposes.

Fig. 2' is a partial view in side elevationzofthe completed roof. truss made from elements that have been. marked by means of the template ill'ustratedin Fig. 1;

Fig. 3iis1a partial viewinvertical section takensubstantially upon the line 3-3 upon Fig. 2, illustrating, the. connection. between one. of the vertical. web members and the top or curved chord of the truss; I

Fig. 4 isatop plan- View illustrating two elements of the. templateshown in. Fig. 1. and. the manner in which avertical web member of the truss is applied thereto for marking purposes;

Fig. 5 is a view ofthe underside of theyertical web member shown in Fig. 4 illustrating. the

manner in whichxit has'beenmarked;

Fig. 6' is. a view'of. the. vertical web member illustrated .in Fig. 5 after it has beencut tolength and shaped and the bolt-holes and timber connector grooves have-been cuttherein;

Fig. '7 is a View in side elevation ofone'of the U-shaped. guides such as that illustrated in Fig. 4 that are used to properly position the web members;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the U-shaped guide illustrated in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is-a view in sideelevationof 1oneof the adjustable guides forming a part of the template which may be advantageously used to; properly position either the bowed top'cho-rd or the horizontal bottomchord' of the truss;

Fig. 10 is a top plan viewof the adjustable guide illustrated in-Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a sectional View through one of'the marking devices forming a part of the template and may be considered as having" been taken upon the line H-ll upon Fig. 1; and

Fig. 12 is a View in side elevation, parts being broken awayand' shown in section illustrating a combined drill and grooving tool that may be employed to drill the bolt holesthrough the two parallel bowed top chord members II and I2. The bottom chord or horizontal chord I3 is similarly made up of two parallel spaced members. The web members, some of which are vertical as indicated at l4 and others of' which are inclined as indicated at l5 have their ends disposed between the members II and I2 of the top chord I0 and between the members-that form the bottom chord I3. The web members are connected to the chords as by bolts I6 and in the conventional form of construction the sides of the web members and the inner faces of the elements that form'the top and bottom chords are grooves as indicated at I! to receive rings or timber connectors I8 which cooper-ate with or assist the bolts I6 in the transmission of stresses.

The particular method of constructionof the bowed top chord may vary under different circumstances. .In the construction. illustrated, however, the bowed top chord is made up of laminations as illustrated in Fig. 3 which are glued together and bent around a form which imparts the desired shape to the top chord. When the glue sets or dries these laminations areretained in their bent or bowed shape.

Onthe floor or platform that supports the elements of the template there are temporarily fastened guides for properly positioning or locating the various elements of the truss including the top chord members, the bottom chord members, and the web members. In the preferred form of construction those guides that are employed to properly position the top chord members and the bottom chord members are made adjustable as to width. These guides are indicated by the reference character I9 and are illustrated in detail in Figs. 9 and 10. Each of these guides comprises a base plate having holes suitably located therein for the reception of double-headed nails 2| or equivalent fastening device that may be driven into the wooden floor or platform that supports the template. These double-headed nails or equivalent fastening device can be removed readily to permit of the repositioning of these guides in making trusses of different spans or having top chords'of varying curvature.

On one end of the base plate there is an upstanding angle or side 22 which is preferably located outwardly with respect to the chord. In other words, this upright side is adapted to be engaged by the outer side of its chord.

The opposed side of the guide is indicated at 23 and is adapted to be engaged by the inner side of its chord. This side of the guide is adjustable toward and away from the stationary side 22 having on its back a threaded shank 24 extending through an upstanding lug 25. Jamb nuts 26 are threaded onto the shank and are adapted to be tightened against opposite sides of the lug to hold the adjustable side 23 in any adjusted position.

The purpose of making these guides for the chords adjustable is to accommodate chords of different depths. In roof truss construction it not infrequently occurs that the depths of the chords vary and the adjustable guides may be readily adjusted to allow for such variation. Ordinarily, however, the widths of the web members do not varyand for this reason the guides for web members indicated by reference character 21 need not be adjustable.

The guides for the web members are illustrated in detail in Figs. 7 and 8 consisting of merely LI-shaped guides having upstanding sides 28 and 29 connected by a bottom 30 which is apertured to receive double-headed nails or equivalent fastening means 3|. These guides are so positioned on thefloor 0r platform as to properly locate the positions of the web members I4 and I5.

At the extreme ends of the template there is a marking construction for marking the ends of the chords, one such marking construction being illustrated at the left-hand end of Fig. 1 by the reference character 32. Thisjmarking constructioncomprises a suitable base plate removably fastened to the floor orplatform by double-headed nails or the equivalent having a vertically arranged serrated edge .33 and. an inclined serrated edge 34. Also, on the base plate are a series of upstanding pointed screws 35. The upstanding serrated edge 33 is intended to mark and thus define the vertical. ends of the bowed top chord members, or in other words, to locate the end surfaces 36 onthe top chord.

The inclined serrated edge 34 is intended'to mark. and thus accurately locate the inclined end surfaces 31 on the bottom chord members I3. The pointed screws 35 serve to mark and thus locate the centers of bolt holes that are to be drilled through the bottom chord members to. receive the bolts that attach the shoe that extends around the end of the truss across the endsur faces 35. 7

Proceeding toward the right on Fig. 1 there is another marking device '38 located at what is to be the location of the bottom of the first vertical web member I4. This marking device consists of a base plate detachably fastened to the floor or platform having an upstanding serrated edge 39' flush with the bottom surface of the bottom chord I3. It also has a vertical serrated edge 40 arranged to be flush with the right-hand edge of the first vertical web member l4. It will be noted that the horizontal serrated edge 39 extends to the right beyond the base of the vertical edge 40 so as to traverse the bottom of the first inclined web member I5. The marking device 38 is also equipped with pointed screws 4| on opposite sides of the edge 40 which serve to punch or mark the centers of bolt holes'to be drilled in the bottom chord' I3' and in the vertical and inclined web members which are to be connected thereto. Above the marking device 38 there is a marking device 42 consisting of a base plate detachably fastened to the floor or platform having a serrated edge 43 flush with'the top or outersurface of the upper curved-chord 10. This serrated edge is designed to mark and thus locate where the timber forming the first vertical web member I4 is to be cut so as, to be flush with thetop of the top chord. It is also equipped with a pointed screw 44 that is intended to punch and thus locate the center of the bolt hole that is to be drilled in thetop of the Vertical web member and in the top chord, members I I and I2.

be positioned on the template and.) similarly-= marked? The ends of these membersma'yfbe cut Similar-markingdevices irrdic'ated at 45, 46, 41 48; and 49-arelocated on; the fioor or platform having serrated edges and pointed screws which serve to mark how'the' ends'of the webgmembers are; to be cut or'shaped' and where thebolt holes are to be drilled in the web members and the chords. these' serrated edges; will vary considerably depending upon the design of the truss. Thus, where the-marking device is located at the apex of the angleformed by two inclined web members l5, the serratededges are so arranged as to define the ends'oftheweb members and to indicate lines upon which the members should be cut so as to have a mitered fit. Similarly the marking device 41 has its serrated edges so arranged as to indicate where the bottoms of web members are to be cut and how they are to be shaped so as to fit properly together with the vertical web member. The marking device indicated at 50 may be equipped with a series of pointed screws or punches to indicate where bolt holes are to be drilled in effecting a splice in the bottom chord, if such a splice is necessary. A similar marking device may be positioned along the length of the top chord if splicing of the top chord is required.

The details of construction of the marking device 48 are illustrated in Fig. 11 and these details may be regarded as typical of all of the marking devices illustrated in Fig. 1. The serrated edges are provided by sharpening the webs 5| of T irons 52 which are welded or otherwise fastened to the base plate. The pointed screws are indicated at 53 having sharpened points 54 and these screws have heads countersunk on the underside of the base plate. They are held in place by means of nuts 55.

When the various guides and marking devices are located on the floor or platform the various elements of the truss may be positioned thereon individually and marked. Thus, for example, the members II and I2 of the top chord can be consecutively positioned in the guides 19 for the top chord. They will then be resting largely on the serrated edges of the marking devicesand on the pointed ends of the screws. The members may then be forced downwardly on the marking devices or tapped thereon wtih a mallet in which case the serrated edges will mark the 4 ends of the top chord by means of a saw mark or dotted line. The points on the screws 10- cate the centers of the bolt holes. Although marking devices 45 and 48 will also transversely mark the top chord members intermediate their I prefer to employ a tool such as that illustrated in Fig. 12 for drilling the holes. This consists of a bit 56 having rigidly secured thereon a cylindrical marking or grooving tool 51. When the holes are drilled by means of the bit the bit serves as a pilot for the marking or grooving tool which is caused to partially cut or groove into the top chord members to form the grooves I"! that receive the timber connectors 18.

When the top chord members have been thus marked and cut the bottom chord members can The particular location or shape of off on a bevel" toprovide the end surfaces. 3 1 andthe various bolt holes may be drilled and the grooves for the timber connectors-cut; The web members may thenbe. individually appliedso as to be. accurately marked both asto length and" the web members and the. punch: mark; 60 defining the centers! of: the bolt holes are-like;-

wise applied. The timber forming the web member can then be accurately out along the lines 58 and 59 by even unskilled labor and the bolt holes and grooves can be easily cut producing the completed or finished web member 6| as illustrated in Fig. 6.

It will thus be appreciated that by means of the template the marking devices of which are stationarily arranged that the top chord, the bottom chord, and the web members can be accurately marked by merely applying these various elements individually or consecutively to the template. The positions of the bolt holes will be accurately indicated on all members and the markings at the ends of the members will be accurately applied. Consequently, with a template set up as indicated it is possible to quickly and accurately mark all of the necessary elements of a series of roof trusses so that they may be easily cut to shape, have their bolt holes and grooves drilled therein, and when assembled, the various parts will nicely fit together. Consequently, by means of the improved construction the marking can be easily accomplished with a great deal of accuracy and the temporary assembly of the elements of the truss is entirely avoided. When the elements have been marked and out they are assembled together for the first and final time, thus producing the completed truss.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A template for marking elements of a wooden truss comprising guide means for positioning the top and bottom chord forming elements of the truss and the connecting web members, and marking means located at the points of intersection of the top and bottom chords and at the points of intersection of the web members with the chords for marking the chord and web forming elements on lines on which they are to be cut.

2. A template for marking elements of a wooden truss comprising guide means for positioning the top and bottom chord forming elements of the truss and the connecting web members, marking means located at the points of intersection of the top and bottom chords and at the points of intersection of the web members with the chords for marking the chord and web forming elements on lines on which they are to be cut, and the centers of bolt holes to be drilled therein.

3. A template for marking elements of a wooden truss having serrated edges located at the points of intersection of elements making up the completed truss on which the elements may be placed to be marked as to length and end shape.

and, guide means engageable with the sides of the elements between" the locations of said serrated edges to properly position the elementswith respect thereto.

4. A template for marking elements of a wooden truss comprising guide means for positioning the top and bottom chord-forming elements of the truss and the connecting web members, and marking means located at the points of intersection of the top and bottom chords and at the points of intersection of the web members with the chords for marking the chord and web forming elements on lines on which they are to be cut,ethe guide means for the chord forming elementsbeing adjustable as to width.

5. A template for markin elements of a Wooden structure wherein the elements meet and overlap in the assembled structure at points of intersection comprising means providing a support, marking means on the support adjacent the points of intersection arranged to mark the lengths and end shapes on lengths of elementforming material applied thereto, and means on the support between the marking means arranged to guide the lengths of element-forming material as they are forced against the marking means.

JULES WAELBROCK. 

